Friday, July 6, 2012

Heat Related Tomato Ripening Issues

Yellow shoulders, a common heat related ripening disorder

The
mild weather that has blessed our gardens with bountiful
harvests so far this
summer came to screeching halt this past week as temperatures
soared into the
triple digits. Any time temperatures get that high vegetables
production will
drop temporarily, especially in tomatoes. In addition, tomatoes
that ripen
during a heat wave are likely to develop heat related ripening
disorders.

Tomatoes that
mature during hot weather often ripen
unevenly, especially at the top or shoulders of the fruit, as seen in this photo (right, photo by Paul Bachi,
University of Kentucky Research and Education Center,
Bugwood.org).